The Lakers came out of the gates slowly in their first 1½ weeks of summer league play, but they appear to be turning a corner, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-89, on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Led by their 2024 draft picks – Dalton Knecht (20 points, seven rebounds) and Bronny James (13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots) – the Lakers trailed by 12 points midway through the third quarter and five points late in the fourth while rallying for their second consecutive win after beating the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
The Lakers lost their first five summer league games – three in the California Classic in San Francisco and the first two in Las Vegas.
With his team trailing 89-84 with three minutes left, James, the No. 55 overall pick, drained a step-back 3-pointer to reduce the Lakers’ deficit to two points and prevent the Cavaliers from putting the game out of reach.
James, who broke out of his summer-league slump against the Hawks by scoring 12 points and making a couple of 3-point shots, also made a scooping left-handed layup to give the Lakers their first lead of the second half, 82-81, with five minutes left. After starting the summer 0 for 15 from 3-point range in four summer league games (he sat out the second game in San Francisco), the 19-year-old son of Lakers star LeBron James has gone 3 for 8 from behind the arc in the last two games.
Knecht, the No. 17 overall pick, tied the score at 89-all with 2:34 left after Colin Castleton (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists) assisted him on a layup off a cut. Knecht made three free throws in the final 2:12 to help seal the victory, grabbing four rebounds (one offensive) to prevent the Cavaliers from cracking into the Lakers’ late lead.
Maxwell Lewis (12 points, four rebounds) and two-way forward Armel Traore (10 points, six rebounds) also scored in double figures.
Jaylon Tyson, the No. 20 pick in last month’s draft, had a near triple-double (21 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists) to lead the Cavaliers. Pete Nance, the younger brother of former Lakers and current Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr., scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half. Emoni Bates had 14 points and four assists, but on 4-for-18 shooting, missing four 3-point attempts in the final 2:15.
The Lakers will play their final summer league game against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday at 4 p.m. (NBA TV).
